Project Archangel
by deltaprime11
Summary: He wasn't sure how much time had passed since the world ended, But the day he found out about it was the day he finally gained his freedom. Although his freedom consisted of a fight for survival or being ripped apart, That's his memory of the day the World Ended. Apocalypse AU, Eventual NaZa. Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: It's Anniversary fic time! Yes, That's right it's been one full year today since I uploaded my first ever story to this website, I mean the very fact that I have people that actually read my stories is mind boggling and I'm so glad you all enjoy them (Well, Most of you enjoy them, anyway.) This fiction idea has been swimming around in my head for awhile, so welcome to my attempt at a apocalypse AU, I hope you enjoy and free cookies to you guys that still read my stuff, I know the updates have been slow lately but I hope they are still at least marginally good!**

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Have you ever had to sit in a waiting room? Have you ever had the feeling time was just passing much more slowly, like if you close your eyes you could almost see the seconds ticking away on a clock? Imagine being completely oblivious to the end of the entire world as you knew it.

He sat atop a small bed, barely even big enough for himself, he had heard the scientists around him mention something about budget cuts, so he made do, four walls and a bed was better than what he had grown up with after all. He ruffled the mess of light pink hair on his head and it fell around his forehead loosely, the side effect of whatever they were doing to him here, His eyes had also turned black. He had to admit it did look cool. But his concern lie elsewhere. He was certain that someone should have come by to question him or at least feed him. His lack of a clock left him in a state that maybe he had just misread the time. It wasn't until light began to flicker through a vent in the roof that he knew something was very wrong. The sun entered the small cell like room for only a few minutes of the day and he had always been fed before that moment. To top it off he had heard what sounded like gunshots and animalistic growling earlier on, The gunshots weren't that out of place the security teams here often trained on the floor beneath him.

There was a small speaker in his room, sometimes one of the people in the base would give him updates on the outside world. It had remained silent as well, he walked towards the barred door and peered down either side of the corridor. In his memory there was only ever one other person like him in this place, but he couldn't really remember anything other than it was a girl. He had been approached as a child, men in black suits said they worked for the government and needed kids like him, no parents or homes, nobody who cared if they were to disappear. They promised a roof and three square meals. As he got older he began being taught lessons, he was always hooked up to half a million machines. They called whatever they were doing the 'Archangel Project' from what he gathered, they were trying to produce super human soldiers or something like that. Apparently it had worked on him, he began combat training at age twelve. He had surpassed his own trainers by the age of fourteen.

"Hello?" He called out experimentally, surely there was still a guard, someone still here? They hadn't just forgotten about him and left him here had they? A feeling of anxiousness began to knag at his stomach, maybe there was fighting? He had heard that animal noise earlier he was positive there were no animals in the base.

A sudden alarm tone sounded and Natsu jumped back as the door to his cell opened up with a loud clank, the lights suddenly blinked off.

"Emergency Power Outage, Please remained calm, electronic locks released. Subjects One to two hundred and fifty potentially released, Security forces requested to subdue subjects." The computer voice explained through the PA system, the message repeated after a moment. Natsu listened a moment, when he heard nothing he stepped out of his cell and peered around himself. 'One to two hundred and fifty?' He thought as he looked around 'No, There's no way I know this place like the back of my hand the only three rooms are right here, mine and two on either side of me.'

A sound caught his ears, it was like the sound of metal dragging along concrete, the only lighting was an occasionally role of red from the emergency lighting, every four seconds he would be able to see a little bit before he was drowned in pitch black darkness again.

"Emergency back-up generator failure, Please remain calm." The voice announced

Natsu clicked his tongue, that feeling that something was wrong was confirmed now, he padded along the corridor slowly, the sound of that grating metal ringing in his ears. The walls of the base were always the same, bare white with dark green floor, he needed his actual clothing. The last thing they had done was give him some kind of injection it was the last one he needed, they said it was a success and he'd be able to leave. He peered around the corner carefully, waiting for the next pulse of light to see what he was walking into he remember one of his instructors saying 'no amount of training will prepare you for a real situation.' He had always doubted those words, not anymore. His entire body was in a state of adrenaline he didn't even think was possible. His foot brushed against something and his eyes darted to the spot. He covered his mouth to keep from gagging. As a new pulse of light illuminated the remains of one of the guards. The black uniform was torn to shreds. Where he stomach should be was just a gaping hole, there were what appeared to be bite marks all of his arms. Natsu didn't recognize the man's face, but he knew that was one hell of a way to go. Another pulse of light illuminated his chest and leg, his sidearm was still holstered and a large knife was sitting across his chest. Natsu took the small gun and knife carefully, pulling back the gun he counted his number of shots. 'Six' He thought with a small amount of disdain 'Well, At least knives don't run out of bullets.'

The man's clothing was useless to him, since it was barely scraps and the white hospital dress thing Natsu was in was probably just as bad. 'I need to get to the training room, hopefully my stuff is still in that locker.'

He quickly made sure the deceased guard wasn't carrying anything else, he found a small flashlight and tested it, it blinked to life and he looked around himself trying to get his bearings. He took the holster for the gun and tied it around his leg, the material was cold against his skin. He got to his feet uttered a silent prayer and continued down the corridor. With the light he could move a little bit faster. Although the closer to the main rooms he got the louder that god forsaken growling got. He was buy a small reception desk, he remembered it, it was basically a security check point. A large red coat caught his attention, mostly because it was out of place, he walked over and took it slowly, the material was quite tough he pulled it on and felt something hard strike his leg, reaching down he searched through the pockets. He removed a small recording device, it was marked on today's date but no foreseeable markings to make it work, he stared at it a moment before the small screen began blinked, a suddenly pinprick jabbed his finger and he drew a sharp breath and placed his finger in his mouth.

"DNA sample confirmed, Playing recording, Zero One Five." The small device droned.

"Happy Birthday, Natsu," A distinguishable female voice whispered softly, The head researcher on the base, she was basically his mother although the pair were never really _that_ close, she just gave him clothing when he grew and stuff like that "If you're listening to this, It means two things, One you're still alive and I am very happy you are, Two everyone in the base is…dead."

Natsu stared at the small device in shock 'Dead? How?'

"While we have been in here, The world has been attempting and failing to hold back something we can't fully understand," The voice continued "Some kind of Virus, we think it arrived on the meteorite that hit Russia almost two years ago, The earliest reports suggest something along those lines."

'So, What the hell?' Natsu thought

"It effects both living and dead, The living become hyper aggressive, stronger and faster easily distinguishable for blood seems to infinitely leak from their eyes, nose and mouth, We call them Reavers" The voice explained "The dead are a different story-"

"Doctor, We are evacuating now!" Another voice shouted.

"Oh, Where are we evacuating to?! There's nothing left, With my last breaths I am going to help him not run away!" The woman roared back Natsu couldn't help but smirk, it was par for the course of the hard ass boss she was.

"The virus creates a core inside a dead host, it seems to be able to create biomass at will, allowing an almost endless regeneration. The only known way to kill them is to destroy the core. Most commonly it's in the spin or head but it has been found in the arms and legs before as well. Some people refer to them as Zombies, like in those old movies. The military call them Revenants."

"All of your things will be in the locker you left them in, As well as a few gifts from your instructors." The voice explained "The coat you find this in is from me."

He chuckled softly as he thumbed the collar idly.

"Natsu, We injected you with a non-violent version of the virus, We are glad it was a success. You have the strength to rival the Reavers and destroy Revenants. What you do with it is up to you, You're free to make your own choices. I just wish we could have won, That way's you be able to choose out of more than just survival or giving up."

"We can't hold them off!" A voice shouted in panic, A loud roar sounded and gunshots were heard before silence, the device clicked off after a moment.

Natsu shook himself violently, a sudden blood curdling roar whipped his attention to the way he had come, the flashlight illuminated the creature, blood pouring profusely down its face and neck, dying what would have been a white lab coat crimson red, slower growls began and he could hear slow shuffling, like something was dragging its feet along the ground. He ripped the gun free of its holster and placed three shots into the roaring thing in front of him, it's shoulders jerked back at the impact before the final shot pierced it's forehead and it hit the floor like an anvil, replacing the gun he drew his knife and took off down the opposite corridor. A slower monster was in front of him although he hadn't seemed to notice him at all yet, he lowered his body and continued past it whilst slashing through its neck, the head rolled to the side as it fell over, he didn't even know what the 'core' looked like how was he supposed to know if it was dead, another roar sounded behind him and he gritted his teeth as he slammed through the door and ripped it closed, his head swiveled around and he spotted a large armor rack he dragged it across and rammed it against the door, He bolted to his locker in the corner and opened it, changing into the black jeans and shirt quickly, pulling the arm guards on, his head whipped to the door as a loud bang rang around the room a large dent appeared in the metal of the door and Natsu pulled the armored shin gauds and boots.

He assumed the 'gifts' were the large rifle, the thing was nearly the size of his body a small post it note was stuck to the side that read 'A-10 Anti Material Rifle'- Laxus. He chucked as he pulled the large rife and slung it across his back, there was a Kevlar vest stocked with rounds for the rifle and a handgun. He pulled the handgun they had left him and examined it, he removed the one he had found on the guard and placed it down a moment, removing the holster and replacing it with the new one. The gun was black dyed steel with a ornate wooden hand guard, the barrel had a small rail with a laser pointer attached to it. He pulled the bag out next and clipped it around himself, it sat just above the rifle so he could get to it quickly he tied the knife around his left leg and the gun sat on his right. He heard the door snap free of its hinges and he pulled the guards gun from the ground and snapped around, the gunshot echoed around the room as the first Reaver through the door dropped instantly a small hole between its eyes. The next two through the door followed suit, Whilst the Revenants pushed against the armor rack, letting out long drawn out growls. Natsu tossed the empty gun aside and darted across the room, gripping one of the many weapons on the wall he drew a long Japanese sword and spun around, cutting the last Reaver in half from the shoulder down, blood spattered his cheek as he did so and he ignored it as the rack of armor fell down with a loud crash, he vaguely recognized some of the faces on the creatures in front of him, The receptionist lazy who had given him chocolate all the time when he was younger, currently clawed towards him slowly, eyes completely bloodshot and devoid of life completely, it let out a growl and bared it's teeth at him throwing its weight forward, he spun out of the way and brought the sword across the things head rolled and he didn't have time to pause as he went through the small group quickly. He spun quickly as he heard a hissing coupled with what sounded like the popping of bubbles, the necks of the creatures extended and reattached the heads, although a large deep orange orb burst through the lower back of one closest to him, he charged it and sliced clean through the orb, the creature let out a pained growl before falling in half, it began melting in front of him before only a puddle of black goop remained, he jumped out of the way as a appendage was sent towards him, he barely managed to duck under it slicing across the appendage fell to the ground useless although the body had already begun reforming a new one in front of him.

'So, making more mass causes the core to expand with shows me where it is.' He thought simply as he moved forward rotating the blade and slicing straight through the centre of the second creature, it fell in half and hissed slightly as it melted into another puddle of black.

He turned to face the remaining Revenant, the Core had burst forth from the woman's cheek, ignoring the memories of the girls smile he threw the sword towards the core, The sword impaled it and the creature let out a high pitched squeal before falling on its back and melting down.

'Is everyone really dead?' He thought, wiping at his eyes quickly, a bang and the sound of metal falling loose caught his attention and he shipped around, bring his gun to bare on the thing that had fallen through the ventilation system he let out a quick gasp as he examined the thing.

"You?" The sound was practically a ghost of a whisper escaping his lips.

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 **A/N: CLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLIFHANGER TIIIIIIIIIIIIME! So, This is sort of my crossover of Fairy Tail, Resident Evil and the Reavers are from the TV show Firefly originally (Thought I had something original there for a bit.) Hehe, Well hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you guys next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

"You?" The ghost of whisper escaped his mouth.

The newcomer staggered towards him and groaned in pain, the boy couldn't have been more than fifteen, he had long black hair than hung loosely around his head blue eyes, he wore a black mask that covered the lower half of his face, he wore a complete black combat suit, metal armguards and knee guards and black boots. A large gash was open above his left eye and blood flowed from the wound freely.

He took a single step forward seemed to notice Natsu was there and then stumbled "Nat…su?" He questioned as he fell forward.

Natsu darted forward and caught the boy before he could hit the ground, he inspected the wound carefully, he frowned slightly at it 'I'm going to need to patch this up, What are you even doing here?' He thought to himself as another animalistic roar sounded from somewhere in the base, his head snapped to the door and he hoisted the small boy onto his back and moved as quickly as he could without jostling the boy on his back too much.

He was back to relying on his ears and the slow pulses of light every few seconds, his own breathing was loud in his ears and his heartbeat thudded louder still, he peered around the corners slowly a small black painted sign with an arrow next to it read 'med bay' he continued down the corridor slowly and peered around the next corner, he silently cursed. Four of the slower creatures padded around the door slowly, occasionally bumping into each other and the walls, he paused a moment. 'They can't see?' He thought slowly as he watched one walk straight into the wall a number of times before finally turning. He lowered himself slowly and leaned the boy against the wall, the boys head lulled to the side but he was still breathing.

Natsu searched around on the ground, he finally spotted a small can atop the abandoned medical stand a small distance from him, he crouched and made his way to it slowly picking up the can he turned around and launched it as far as he could down the opposite corridor. The loud metallic clang echoed around the base. The creatures quickly got aggressive, letting out threatening growls and low grunts as they hoarded towards the sound, three passed quickly the forth seemed to be trudging quite a bit slower than it's compatriots, it stopped in the intersection in between Natsu and the boy and paused, rotating it's head around it's bloodshot eyes stopped on Natsu and he froze, the iris and pupil were completely black, he waited to see what it would do, he slowed his breathing as best he could making himself completely silent.

The boy heard the grunt and let out a frightened groan, the creature rotated slowly, Natsu's eyes widened and he drew the knife darting towards the monster he delivered a powerful kick to its back, a large orange orb burst from the back of its neck and he slammed his knife into it quickly, gathering the boy quickly he looked down to see the other four hadn't heard anything he opened the door to the medical room and locked it behind him, looking around the room slowly he placed the boy on one of the beds.

The lights suddenly flicked on "Emergency Generator Online, restoring primary functions, Ventilation systems back online, lights back online." The animatronic voice sounded.

Natsu found gauze and a small amount of disinfectant, he applied it slowly, the boy drew a sharp breath at the contact. Natsu sowed the wound up carefully before wrapping it with a bandage 'So he passed out cause of lack of air.' Natsu thought flatly as he continued wrapping the boys wounds.

The boys eyes suddenly rocketed open and he sat up quickly he drew his gun and pointed it at Natsu in panic, Natsu raised his arms slowly and took a step back.

The boy glared at the pinkette for what seemed like a long time before he finally spoke "Natsu? Right?"

Natsu paused "Yes."

"I got your message, we didn't think anyone was left alive here." The boy holstered the gun and hopped of the bed slowly wincing slightly as he tested his balance.

"Hang on," Natsu lowered his arms "What do you mean message? I got out of my room today, the thing had an electronic lock and I've been stuck in there for however long it took for everyone in here to turn into those things."

"Well, Most of the world is those things," The boy replied flatly as he examined the shelves, looking for anything they could use "If the power went out that means we have one ally currently inside the base as well. She was supposed to shut down the power so I could get passed the fans in the vents. I ran into a Reaver up there and he got me pretty good." He gestured to his forehead.

"Thanks for this," Natsu nodded his head slightly "I'm Romeo, do you remember me at all?"

"Macao's kid right? You've grown a bit." Natsu replied

"Yeah, The old man would be happy to know you made it," Romeo chuckled "He always spoke highly of your skills."

"Is he?" Natsu paused

"Dead? Yeah, The real kind too not trying to eat or tear anyone apart. He held on a long time even managed to get a semblance of society back," Romeo chuckled "Although nothing stays safe very long nowadays."

The two paused and sat in silence a moment, Romeo began placing useable medical items in a backpack he had found and he slung it on his back "Don't suppose you have any interest in making friends?" Romeo asked casually

Natsu shrugged "Hadn't really thought about it."

"Well, we did come here to get you out of the base," Romeo replied as he looked around "Although judging from the state of things you've done more rescuing today than I have."

"Did you have a plan to get out of here? I know the place well I also know there are a little more than two hundred new friends waiting around to get acquainted with our insides," Natsu began "The slower ones are easy enough to get around it's the Reavers we need to be careful of."

"Two hundred?" Romeo questioned "Damnit, We were hoping most would have left the building. Look as much as I want to help you and I do, My real friends life is currently more important to me than yours is."

Natsu nodded "Where was she supposed to be?"

"She was heading for the main room, she was going to get a map of the complex and meet me by the room I dropped in from." Romeo replied

"You have no way to contact each other?" Natsu asked 'They are either stupid or incredibly optimistic.'

"We did," Romeo held out what remained of a headset "But as you can see, one of my new friends took a liking to this."

Natsu ruffled his hair "There's one other thing, When I first got out there was this sound I heard, it sound like someone was dragging metal along the ground."

Romeo shrugged "Revenants often die clutching weapons, maybe it was something like that."

Natsu nodded his head slowly, although his gut told him something very different.

"Listen, It's a pretty straight shot to the control room," Natsu began

"But?" Romeo asked

"But I know of at least three revenants in the hallway right now who knows how many more after, as far as I know the last of the people in the base held up somewhere near the reception desk," Natsu explained "I'll get the attention of our new friends and play host for awhile."

Natsu opened his pack, he examined the contents and clicked the small headset over his ear "Use your friends communicator to tell me when you are _outside_ I'm going to make sure our friends stay in here permanently."

"How?" Romeo asked

"The base has a few systems in case of something like a hostile takeover, they studied some pretty nasty diseases here too," Natsu explained "The one I am going to use is the fuel air approach."

"Ah, setting the air on fire is definitely… _effective_." Romeo nodded

"It's not the best plan but it's the only one we have right now," Natsu replied, he unlocked the door to the med bay "Stay hidden until I give you the signal."

"What signal?" Romeo asked

"Oh, You'll know it!" He shouted as he ran down the corridor "Alright then you ugly bastards COME HERE!" He shouted

The three in front of him rotated towards him instantly before charging after him, he ran down the left corridor, he drew his knife and began sliding it along the wall, making as much noise as possible "Come on now. DINNER'S HERE!" He roared

Romeo rolled his eyes and waited a few more seconds, when nothing moved passed the corridor for a minute he stepped into the corridor and moved along quietly.

Natsu continued to run making sure to get further away from the main room with the hoard currently following him, a loud bellowing roar pulled his attention the front, he lowered himself as he sped forward towards the Reaver in front of him, the guards uniform it wore left him with one option, placing his foot against the wall he kicked up and rolled to the side as a clawed hand took a swipe at him, he threw the knife down and embedded it into the creatures skull before drawing it out and continuing down the corridor. He rounded a corner and slid to a stop "That's new." He huffed, a large barricade looked to have been hastily constructed in front of him, he could see he wouldn't be able to move it quick enough, a low growl pulled his attention to his pursuers. He drew his gun quickly and dropped the two fastest monsters in front of him. His mind raced as he tried to devise a new route quickly that wouldn't endanger Romeo, he had almost run full circle he was quite close to his old room at this point, he ran his hand through his hair 'Come on, Come on!' He thought angrily when nothing came to him.

The groan of metal drew his attention back to the barricade, he barely had enough time to duck under the massive axe that cut through the pile of metal and embedded into the wall "Revenant with a weapon he said." Natsu repeated sarcastically, He threw a hard kick into one of the pursuers that knocked a few of them away from him, the thing drew the massive axe back and Natsu charged it.

The grotesque mass of grey flesh seemed to focus on him, the axe blade was apparently mutated bone, attached the a long sinewy string, large bloated sections of puss adorned the grey mass, it's gaping maw was about the side of his head and it split the side of the monsters head completely, allowing its entire head to essentially become a mouth of rows of sharp teeth. It ripped the axe blade into the air before dragging it back down, Natsu dive rolled to the side as the barricade was sent scattering around him, crushing a few of his pursuers as it did so.

The area he bolted into was essentially the hanger, the massive iron steel doors were closed but the expansive place gave him the best advantage, if he didn't run out of bullets or get impaled.

Natsu dropped low into a slide as the axe flew over his head, he drew his gun and unloaded a few rounds into the things face, the monster didn't even flinch as he slid under it. He rolled to his feet and delivered a powerful roundhouse to a Reaver that had charged him, the thing spun away from him and he darted forward and quickly put a round in its head, his handgun clicked and he hit a button on the side. The empty magazine fell from the gun and he drew another one, his eyes darted to the incoming axe blade and he tossed the new magazine in the air as he bent almost all the way backwards, the magazine fell towards him as he straightened he caught it and loaded quickly.

He drew his knife and crossed his arms carefully, placing the knife adjacent to his gun as he aim down the barrel, he placed a few more rounds in the massive monster the thing shrugged the bullets off as if they were nothing more than flies and Natsu gritted his teeth.

He quickly rotated and lashed out with a quick slash, the Reaver stumbled as its head left it's body and he dived out of the way of the axe again, sliding along his back he placed three rounds in a Revenant as it closed in on him. His eyes darted to another Revenant currently shuffling in the pack as it advanced towards him, rather his eyes focused on the thing on its chest, the military uniform was noticed but ignored as he focused his aim. The gunshot echoed around the hanger a moment, the bullet struck the hand grenade on the creatures chest. The resulting explosion created a large puddle of bloody mulch in the group, He rolled to the side as the axe came down and showered him with concrete. A Reaver leapt into the air and he snapped around and placed a bullet into its face. The thing fell to a heap beside him. He sidestepped the axe blade and gasped suddenly as he remembered it wasn't just the blade. The sinew that attached the blade suddenly wrapped around him and threw him to the ground, his face connected with concrete harshly and he saw stars. Doing his best to shake off the black encroaching on his vision, he drove his knife into the revealed core of a Revenant beside him and forced it back a few steps before pulling back, he narrowly avoided a Reavers hand and placed a round in the back of its head. The handgun clicked again and he holstered it quickly. His blurry vision finally cleared and he shook his head violently to chase away the last of the black.

His eyes focused on the grotesque, Drawing his knife he charged at it the thing narrowed its focus on him and launched the axe blade towards him in a straight line. A small smirk appeared on Natsu's face as he side stepped and brought the knife down harshly and the sinew snapped. The thin let out a roar of pain, before lowering itself and charging Natsu, apparently intent on crushing him in its mouth. He bolted away from it, He booted the massive axe blade over and gripped the sinew still attached to it tightly, He pulled with everything he had, Gritting his teeth as the thing began to slide slightly, loud thumping footsteps rang in his ears as the monster closed in on him, the blade finally left the ground and he swung it around as if he was playing shot put, the axe slammed into the side of the creature and it howled in pain as it was knocked down to the side, it propped itself up on one arm and sent him a feral glare.

Natsu breathed heavily "You're the last one here Ugly." He taunted

He doubted it understood him, but the roar it let out made him consider the idea for a moment, It got to its feet slowly the axe still embedded deep into its side, it charged him again. Natsu's eyes narrowed and he held his position, diving to the left as it reached him, he rolled to his feet in a crouched position, his coat bellowed behind him as he launched himself from the crouched position, seeming to become a blur as he rotated and slammed his feet into the axe blade.

The squelch of the blade forcing its way through flesh filled his ears as he forced the blade directly through the monster, the top half flew into the air and hit the ground with a loud thud as Natsu flipped away and landed deftly.

The head made a few gurgling sounds as large greenish yellow puddle spewed out from both halves of the corpse before it began bubbling and hissing, eventually melting down till nothing but the puddle remained.

Natsu fell to his knee's as his vision blurred, he had never felt so fatigued in his life, his eyelids felt heavy as he swayed in his position. He briefly remembered someone catching him then everything went black.

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 **A/N: Hehe, So what do you think? Just for reference no, Natsu didn't just clear the whole base out, He did however kill the ones that he managed to draw to him (Which in fact wasn't really that many) The boss fight thing was an improvised section, as I was writing I just thought it'd be really cool if and went with that. Hope you enjoyed and I will see you in the next one, peace!**


	3. Chapter 3

His vision faded in and out as he teetered on the edge of consciousness, occasionally he would see things he could make out 'red hair?' He thought as black consumed him again, his eyes fluttered open again and he could vaguely make out a figure in front of him it took a few moments before the persons words began registering with his mind.

"Head north when you leave Archangel, I will catch up with you." The voice was definitely feminine, although he wasn't even sure the person was real. His eyes closed again and he felt his head rest against a wall.

"Natsu!" A voice called, he felt someone shake him and his eyes shot open.

"Glad you're not dead," Romeo smirked at him "I thought you said we were supposed to leave first."

Natsu's eyes floated over the boys shoulder and took in the appearance of the young bluette behind him, her brown eyes regarded him curiously an assault rifle of some kind was slung over her back and a large knife sat above her waist on her back. She had the same mask Romeo was wearing when they had first met around her neck "I'm Wendy by the way." She introduced flatly

"I'm not even sure how I got here," Natsu replied his voice was hoarse and he swallowed painfully "I remember fighting in a hanger pretty clearly then everything is jumbled and fuzzy."

"Well, I think we have overstayed our welcome, I took your repeated message down so no one else will get lured in here." Wendy stated flatly as a few Revenants trudged around the corner they currently had not heard the three people, Natsu motioned for them to keep quite as he moved towards the massive pair of doors that was the elevator to get out of the base, the two doors remained open and he peered his head around looking above him and down, The elevator was now in a smoldering husk at the bottom of the shaft, fortunately the cables remained intact.

"How do you guys feel about a climb?" Natsu asked quietly

Romeo ducked his head and investigated the shaft himself before nodding his head "Doesn't look like we have much of a choice."

Natsu nodded, he gestured with his head for the two to go up before him, the pair obliged silently as Natsu watched as a the group of creatures began steadily growing, Romeo and Wendy began hoisting themselves along the cable as fast and silently as they could, Natsu lowered his body as he watched the Revenants, his own heartbeat pounding in his ears as they filed into the room 'One Reaver rounds that corner and this is going to become a shitstorm fast.' He thought as he waited, he glanced at the pair behind him before turning back to the door.

He rolled his eyes as a humanoid stuck it's head around the corner, it's eyes focused on him and it opened its mouth he drew his handgun instantly and aimed up his shot, there was a silent moment before the eyes of the creature glazed over, a small red line appeared through the centre of its head before the thing slid off and fell to the ground.

A person dressed entirely black dropped down in a low crouch, a large staff like weapon in her hand, her long red hair flowed around her body and seemed to glow slightly, her eyes were in a word, breathtaking, the two red orbs seemed to ripple as if they were a pool of crystal clear water, the weapon hummed as the bladed edges at either end glowed a bright cerulean blue, she spun the weapon above her head and embedded it into the wall, the sound drew the attention of everything in the room and she bolted down the corridor.

"Wait a second!" Natsu shouted after her before slapping his hand over his mouth, most of the creatures had already chased after her, the two that remained in the room turned to him. Natsu pursed his lips together as he drew his knife, the one closest to him reared his shoulder back before launching its arm at him, the thing suddenly expanded and shot at him, his eyes widened and he rolled out of the way and slashed upwards, the appendage squirmed on the ground a moment before letting out a hiss and it began melting down.

He rolled his eyes as he quickly rotated and planted his feet against the wall of the elevator shaft, placing his hand against the surface of the concrete he heard a low growl behind him and he darted up, the area bellow him exploded in a shower of dust and concrete, he hadn't realized her was essentially running up a horizontal surface as if it were nothing until he noticed he was quickly approaching the pair who had left before him.

"It's time to pick up the pace," Natsu shouted as he grabbed Romeo by the collar, the boy braced himself instantly and Natsu planted his feet, the sound of his boots grating on the concrete echoed around the shaft as he turned his body and launched the boy into the air, Romeo caught hold of the exit with his hand and hoisted himself up with a huff.

Natsu flipped backwards as one of the creatures below him sent an arm towards him, landing in a crouch against the opposite wall of the shaft, his head spun a moment as his perception began to change again, he shook it off and grabbed the small girl in the same way "Romeo, Catch your Girlfriend!" He shouted as he dodged an attack and attempted to launch the girl the same distance, quickly recognizing his lack of power, Romeo planted his chest against the ground and reached low, Wendy's hand connected with his and he pulled her up.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Romeo's head appeared over the shaft and he glared at Natsu.

Natsu rotated the rifle from around his back to his hands as he flipped into the air, he planted his feet against the roof of the shaft and took a moment to aim down the shaft, he squeezed the trigger lightly and the gun jerked back, slamming into his shoulder painfully as the large round blew a section of the wall out of the shaft, effectively cutting off their pursuers. He drew back the massive bolt and a shell that looked like it belong in an artillery cannon clinked as it fell down the shaft, He slung the rifle over his back and pulled himself out of the shaft, his feet landed on dirt and it crunched under his feet. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes before he was suddenly tackled to the ground.

"What the hell are you?!" The small bluette demanded as she pressed a gun to his face

Romeo stood a small distance behind her, although he apparently wanted answers so he didn't move or speak, he just watched Natsu curiously.

Natsu stared at the two people impassively before he finally opened his mouth to answer "Well, for starters I'm infected." He tilted his head slightly as the gun pressed a little tighter to his face, he saw Romeo unclip the strap that held his handgun in place and place his hand on it carefully.

"Don't fuck around," Wendy sounded as if she were about to cry "Living people who are infected can't talk, they don't think, they just kill eat and destroy."

"Well, I should rephrase that," Natsu nodded his head slowly "I am the product of an experimentation using the virus to create super soldiers, The project was dubbed Project Archangel."

Romeo seemed to relax a little "Wendy, My dad worked with him he used to talk about it a little, although I didn't know his name or what he looked like till I met him."

"So? If he's some new variant he might have recorded that message to lure people in there! The place was practically moving with the amount of Infected in there!" Wendy shouted

"What so he patched me up and helped us escape cause he wanted to trap us?!" Romeo demanded angrily, he leaned beside the girl slowly and placed his hand on the gun, lowering it slowly, she glanced at him before jumping to her feet and storming off.

Romeo sighed and looked at the gun in his hand "She doesn't have a very trusting relationship with the old government nor do I for that matter," Romeo pointed the gun towards Natsu slowly "I want you to understand one simple thing, If you threaten either of us you are going to be much more than a super soldier to avoid dying understand?"

Natsu nodded his head "Now that we are on the same page," He stated "There are two things I need to explain, First I myself have no idea how to use any of the power I may or may not have gotten from this," He stated plainly "Second, I think I tapped into it in the hanger but the result was me passing out and ending up beside that elevator."

"Wonderful," Romeo replied sarcastically "Anything else?"

"I can't say for sure, but did your dad ever mention other projects like me?" Natsu asked

Romeo opened his mouth before pausing "No, There was one, He barely said anything about it other than 'I can't believe it worked.'"

Natsu ran his hand through his hair "Apparently I can also sense the infection in other things too."

"What makes you say that?" Romeo asked

"Just after you two started climbing, someone helped me out by leading a large number of them away," Natsu explained "I can't say for sure, but I think she is the one that worked your dad mentioned."

"Okay, Great so now what?" Romeo asked

"I'm heading North." Natsu replied resolutely

Romeo pursed his lips grimly "There is nothing left North."

"Oh really? How do you know?" Natsu asked

"That's what everyone says," Romeo answered "They say it's crawling with unknown Variants and then the normal bad infected on top of them."

"Have you been?" Natsu asked

"No," Romeo answered "But that's not the poi-"

Natsu cut him off "She said go North, I'm going north. You don't have to come with me, In fact I don't expect you too, I got you out of that base because _I_ wanted to and felt it was right."

Romeo stared at him for a long time "I know I never would have made it if it wasn't for you. That's exactly why I don't want you to chase after some pipe dream some strange girl who may or may not be under the effects of an apocalyptic virus make you go to a death zone."

"Please, They only call it a death zone cause no normal people ever get out," Natsu rolled his eyes "I'm far from normal."

"I have no qualms if you want to kill yourself," Wendy shot at him, finally rejoining the pair "But if I know Romeo and I _do_ , He's going to go with you."

Romeo spun the gun around his finger and smiled "What's wrong Wendy you scared?"

"I'm a better shot than you Rom." Wendy taunted

"I'm smarter." Romeo countered

"I have more _balls_." Wendy retorted

Natsu snickered and placed the back of his hand against his mouth to keep from openly laughing, Romeo seemed to be in a similar state of disbelief "That's physically impossible!" He shouted

"Who knows maybe I stole yours when you dropped them in that damned air vent." Wendy continued to taunt, much to Natsu enjoyment

"We both know how difficult Reavers are to kill in close quarters!" Romeo shouted in his own defense.

Wendy opened her mouth but Natsu cut her off.

"Look as great as you two bickering like a married couple is," He ignored the glares of both his companions "I'm going, There's a horde of Reavers coming from that direction." He pointed southwest "So, if you are going to go anywhere avoid that way."

He reshouldered his bag and began walking away from the pair, Romeo reacted first picking up his bag and slinging it over his arm before pulling his mask back over his face, Wendy followed suit in pulling her mask up and getting her rifle off her back and falling into step beside the pair.

Natsu glanced at her carefully, she seemed more focused on him than anything else 'She's looking at me as if I am about to go rabid.' He thought with a sigh 'Well, I'm sure she has her reasons.'

* * *

The three walked for what seemed like miles before they came into a small town, they walked down the centre street, destroyed shops lined the old broken road, the buildings that weren't already falling apart looked about ready too, other were burned to the ground and a few were just piles of concrete.

Natsu heard a loud thud, although he could tell it wasn't from anywhere near them, he frowned and turned around, squinting his eyes against the dwindling light of the day, they widened and he grabbed his two companions and forced them into the ground as a large wave flew over their heads, destroying the remained buildings as the three flattened against the ground.

"What was that?!" Romeo coughed through dust as Natsu got back to his feet, he could make out the massive plume of smoke against the sky and barely see the glint of fire that was his childhood home.

The other two could only make out the smoke, they turned to Natsu carefully "It's gone, right?"

Natsu nodded his head slowly, Romeo didn't know much other than Natsu was some orphan they had picked up for a 'new project' his father had described, but seeing what was probably the closest thing to a home you ever had evaporate in front of you was painful, he could speak from experience in that matter.

He gave the boy a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder "We should rest here for the night, the buildings will give us a little bit of cover in the morning."

"Yeah, as I always say, Two walls is better than none." Wendy chimed, catching the mood pretty quickly

"When do you ever say that?!" Romeo shot at her

"Just now actually," Wendy replied as she entered on such building and looked around "See, Home sweet wall!" She flourished her arms above her head as if she were selling it, Natsu managed a small grin and Romeo chuckled, Natsu was glad the sun had gone down. He wiped his face in the dark slowly as images of everyone he had ever spoken too or even got to know a little bit flashed through his head. He took a deep breath and made his way over to the pair, who were currently using what used to be support beams for a roof as firewood as they tried to gain a small amount of light.

"You guys wouldn't by any chance happen to have some good food?" Natsu chuckled as he sat down, the fire crackled as it lit to life.

"Depends on your definition of good," Romeo replied as he rummaged through his pack "Oh, looks like we got pedigree tonight."

"Dog food?" Natsu asked

The pair nodded "You'll live." Wendy stated with a shrug

"It's better than Revenant meat." Romeo noted

"You've eaten them?" Natsu paled

"No, I mean, but it has to be….right?" Romeo questioned

Wendy face palmed and Natsu just nodded thoughtfully 'This is going to be a really long trip.' He thought to himself as he stared towards the expansive waste that was 'north'.

* * *

 **A/N: Will Wendy kill Natsu?! Will Natsu Find anything but infected north?! Is the red head still alive?! ARE SHEEP REALLY LAND CLOUDS?! Hope you all enjoyed this and I will see you guys in the next one, peace!**


	4. Chapter 4

_"Doctor? What seems to be the issue with my son?" Natsu couldn't remember what his real father looked like, he just remembered this conversation through the door of a white hospital room._

 _"It seems he ran onto the road to save a small animal for a young girl, the truck didn't have any time to stop properly," The doctor explained "His, he likely won't ever regain the ability to walk."_

 _"Of course he won't," He father practically snarled "He never listens, he's been nothing but a hindrance on my family's name since he was born."_

 _"Uh, Sir, don't you think that is a little harsh?" The doctor asked "He is your son."_

 _"Not anymore, As of this morning he's just another orphan. I don't care what you do with him." His father responded_

* * *

Natsu's eyes darted open and he sat up, he rubbed his head slowly and pressed on his temple 'Do I really need to remember that?' He thought solemnly as he got to his feet, the fire they had made had died out awhile ago just the charred black remains smoked in a pile as he stretched himself out 'That was just before this hole virus business started.' He thought to himself as he walked out onto the street 'I wonder if he's still alive somewhere, I wonder how he'd react to me now.' A low animalistic growl caught his attention, he hopped to his feet and darted to his companion, he shook Romeo lightly and placed his hand over the boys mouth as he snapped up, placing his finger over his mouth in a shushing motion Natsu pointed through a busted window into a more covered building, Romeo nodded his head in understanding and went to rouse Wendy from her sleep.

Natsu peered around the corner of the building their makeshift camp was in carefully, the creature resembled a dog or boar of some kind, two serrated tusk curved upwards at either side of its mouth, large serrated canines lined the gap in between them tusks, the things eyes glowed a dark menacing orange. It's large paws kicked up dust as it stalked low against the ground, it's eyes focused on Natsu and it let out a long howl before charging him.

Natsu's' eyes widened and he jumped back quickly as the creature slammed through the wall, obliterating what was left of the aging concrete easily and charging after him, Natsu shielded himself with his arms as a shower of concrete rained on him, he drew his knife and flicked it, blade pointing down, before diving to the side and rolling to his feet he slid slightly as the creature crashed in the wall that was behind him and he launched off of his back foot, bringing the blade across its side as it turned to face him, it let out a pained howl and Natsu barely had enough time to push himself into the air as another creature of the same kind slammed through the building to his left, he barely avoided being caught in the creatures jaw and he lashed out instinctively, the blade caught the beasts tusk and was wrenched from his grasp, he rolled along the groan and let out a pained groaned as he finally stopped "Damnit." He glanced around for his knife, he wasn't surprised when he found it on the opposite side of the two creatures in front of him.

The monsters circled him slowly, clearly watching him carefully, his head swiveled as he tried to keep his eye on each beast respectfully, he gritted his teeth as he realized they were attempting to box him in, his mouth split into a wide grin as his eyes widened slightly, he rotated slightly before appearing to disappear, he curved around in a powerful kick that slammed into the side of one of the monsters, the creature let out a loud yelp and Natsu felt bone break under his foot as he continued through and launched the creature back first into a wall, a sickening crunch resounded around the empty town.

Natsu panted his shoulder were slumped and his hands sat limp slightly above his arms, his head chest and body heaved with every breath, he felt as if his entire body was on fire at that moment, the pain was uncomfortable and at the same time immensely comforting, it felt as if he could take on the crazy world he inhabited and win. The other creature was apparently enraged by the death of its comrade, Natsu's grin didn't fade as he hopped on his toes for a moment, before spinning quickly his boot slammed into the side of the creatures head with enough force to snap the left tusk in half completely, the creature hunched over a moment as it shook it's head and refocused on him. Natsu stayed low as the pair circled each other slowly, it felt like the thing in front of him was intentionally trying to delay fighting him, like it was waiting.

His eyes widened at the realization that the creature in front of him was fighting like a pack animal and he launched himself into the air, a loud crash and a set of growls confirmed his suspicions as he rotated in the air to find at least five more creatures directly below him, he could faintly make out trails of dust on the horizon, he was unsure if that was more of the dog-like infected though, he rotated in the air a second time and angled himself correctly as he plummeted down and brought his foot down hard on the beast he had previously injured, it's skull caved in under his boot and he flipped away acrobatically.

Romeo glanced out of the building at their new comrade, he knew full well that what the boy in front of him was doing was impossible, he felt the unmistakable feeling of hope swell in his chest, he focused on the boys eyes, the usual onyx had been replaced by a bright cerulean blue, they seemed to reflect light like a pool of water, he noticed the boys hair seemed to be floating ever so slightly 'Dad, I think we can do it, we can finally win,' The bluette beside him squeezed his hand ever so slightly and he smirked at her "With him, we can finally take a bit of _our_ home back."

'I wonder what my doctors would say if they saw me now!' Natsu thought in his exhilaration as he clenched his fists and pressed forward, the ground cracked beneath his feet and he launched forward, he flipped over and slammed both his feet in the forehead of the beast closest to him, another leaped over its comrade and Natsu placed his hands against the ground and spun himself like a top, battering the airborne infected away like a ragdoll, it rolled over and growled at him in aggravation "You know, I was a little conflicted about what I was going to do now that I have my freedom," He announced to the infected creatures "I've decided," He paused and hopped out of the way of an attack before launching himself forwards, flipping over his brought his heel down with bone shattering force and crushed the head of another one of the creatures "I'm going to take back this world!" He roared as he launched himself into the air, his cloak floated slightly behind him as he rotated and flattened his hands to his sides, wind pulled at his hair and he flipped around quickly as he landed atop another one of the creatures, the things back broke under the force of his landing. His smile was nothing short of terrifying as he launched from the body, slamming both his feet into the side of a beast that was still surprised at the speed in which it's comrade had been dispatched, the last three charged him quickly, the bones beneath his feet shattered and he turned and dragged his hand along the ground to slide to a stop, pulling himself forward as he launched off his back foot he watched the creature in front of him raise its head slightly and he slid underneath it, straightening all of his fingers he drove upwards, his hand sliced through the soft flesh of the creature and he gripped the only beating object he could find and squeezed harshly, the beast let out a squeal and Natsu rolled out from under it before it fell to the ground, he scanned around himself quickly, the others seemed to have cleared out.

"Look out!" Natsu's head snapped around to Romeo and he launched backwards a metallic clank resounded from the spot Natsu had leapt from. A shirtless masked male's head snapped towards him, the man wore a perfectly white gas mask with black painted over it in the likeness of a skull, the weapon he wielded seemed to be a crossover of a circular saw and an axe, the saw blade was embedded in the centre of appeared to be a human skull and a mean looking metal spike protruded from the back of it the thing was attached to metal pole, Romeo and Wendy darted to Natsu's side and drew their weapons.

The man's eyes focused on Natsu, the black reminded him of the infected he had seen back at the base, only these had a glowing red pupil, the man cocked his head to the side "We found an Usagi-chan," the man announced "Can we eat it?"

"They look tasty," Natsu snapped to the new voice, his head darted as more of the same mask began appearing around them, the sound of an engine roaring drew his attention to the entrance to the town, a large motorbike, had a man who wore a black gas mask riding it, the man's body was covering in what appeared to be bone, the bike was also covered in different kinds of bones he couldn't recognize, two long straight spikes extended from either side of the front wheel, the man riding it revved the loud bike menacingly.

"He's a Michael variant," The black mask said in surprise "It's nice to meet you, We are your Upperclassmen, The _Lucifer_ variant."

'Michael? Lucifer? As in the Archangel's?! What's going on?' Natsu continued to try to keep an eye on the many of the psychopaths that were appearing around them.

"Rip the flesh, pound the meat." Natsu drew his handgun and aimed it at one of the men, who was chanting those six words like a mantra.

"Enough!" The man on the bike shouted, the other's quieted instantly, seemingly nervous as the black mask got off the bike and moved towards the group.

"Interesting," He regarded Natsu as if he was a very rare jewel, rubbing where his chin would be in thought, his eyes made it look like he was smiling behind the mask "You're the only survivor."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Natsu shot at him "But leave if you want to survive past today."

The man let out a low chuckle, which was echoed by the men around him "Project Archangel, Did you believe you were the only one? There were four variants of the virus used."

"So?" Natsu questioned in irritation, his curiosity finally getting the better of him.

"We are the first and the most powerful, The Lucifer Strain," The man introduce with a flourish and a bow "The Second iteration, The Gabriel Strain, The Third, The Raphael Strain and The Final, The Michael Strain."

"As they modified the virus for less sporadic behavior it progressively got more dangerous, The Lucifer Strain proved to be the most effective." The man finished his explanation with a boastful glint in his eyes.

"They tried four times because you were effective? It sounds to me like you are all _failures._ " Romeo growled

The man's demeanor quickly changed, irritation was evident in his voice as he spoke "Your humans are merely distractions, we will remove them if they speak again."

Wendy nudged Natsu lightly, he holstered his weapon and took the knife from her hands and kept it behind his back "Your infection rate is low, choose your next words very carefully."

The man's eyes lowered and he sent a red eyed glare at Natsu "What was that?"

"I can sense exactly how well the Virus has integrated with your system," Natsu smirked and tilted his head to the side "More than half of you are teetering on the edge of losing all your humanity and becoming nothing more than Reavers, The others are fighting the virus and you are just weak."

"The Lucifer Strain is the strongest, we are invincible!" The man roared "Kill this brats humans and take him alive, The boss will love to have a long discussion with you."

Natsu brandished the knife "You have three seconds to turn around and leave."

"Rip the flesh, Eat the meat!" The man closest to Romeo pounced forward, Romeo spun out of the way, the man seemed surprise as the cold iron of Romeo's gun was placed on his temple.

"Die." Romeo growled as he pulled the trigger

"Three." Natsu began as the body fell beside him

" **RIP THEIR FUCKING HEARTS OUT!"** Black mask roared as he leapt onto his bike.

"Two." Natsu placed a foot slightly forward and leaned forward, a smile began to break out on his face.

The axe wielder who had appeared first leapt towards Wendy, she quickly somersaulted backwards and landed deftly as she whipped her rifle around and pulled the trigger as the man floated backwards.

" **We are the strongest!"** Black mask roared as he sped the bike towards the group with intent to impale them.

"One." Natsu finished and launched, appearing to simply disappear from his spot, Black mask felt the sudden pressure on his chest and was suddenly gazing at the sky, before sliding along the dusty concrete and rolling to a stop.

Natsu held the knife out in front of him, a deadly glow in his eyes as a wide grin enveloped his face, he dropped the knife straight down the thing landed with a clink.

" **YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT ME WITHOUT A WEAPON?! THE LUCIFER STRAIN ALLOWS FOR CONTROLLED MUTATION!** " Black mask roared as he held his arm out to his side, the skin began splitting apart, small black tentacles erupted from the breaks in the skin, blood spilled profusely as the man let out a pained howl as his arm mutated, it wrapped around a chunk of concrete with a few old pieces of metal sticking out of it, absorbing the material and pushing it to the front creating a writhing mace like weapon.

Natsu rolled his neck calmly, resounding pops gave him a small amount of relief as he lowered his body, the appendage was launched at him, stretching and writhing as it flew past him, Natsu rotated slightly, allowing the appendage to pass him and slam into the ground, it showed the area with dust and Natsu's eyes glowed a bright blue through the cloud, Black mask could only watch as the pair of eyes moved ever so slightly before he was face to face with them, Natsu slammed his fist into the first generation soldier, the man lurched as blood was forced out of his mouth.

"Stop." He said suddenly

"Tch," Natsu clicked his tongue in annoyance, he spun quickly and slammed his kick into the man's knee.

The knee snapped and the man was forced to one knee "Stop." The man began to plead.

"You had ample time to consider the dangers of your actions," Natsu growled "How many people have this group killed?"

"T-T-T-Three hundred and forty seven." The man sobbed out "I-I don't want to die."

"Do you believe anyone _wants_ to die?" Natsu questioned as he stepped back and took a deep breath "Nobody wishes for death."

"Stop!" The man screamed in fear as Natsu rotated his body, his roundhouse connected with the masked mans neck with a loud crunch, Natsu forced his leg all the way through severing the head from the shoulders and sending the head sailing through the air.

The dust cleared, the members of the group lay dead or dying, Natsu retrieved his knife and slid it into the sheath on his leg "These animals are first on the long list of things I am going to annihilate." Natsu growled, the threat was made all the more menacing while his eyes glowed, his closed them and took a long breath, they returned to their usual onyx.

Romeo nodded his head "Well for better or for worse we'll follow you."

Natsu inclined his head with a grateful smile on his face.

"I don't have much of a choice," Wendy chuckled "There's someone I want to keep alive after all."

Natsu caught the ever so slightly glance at Romeo but elected to not make a point out of it, his thoughts quickly focused to what he had learned that day 'Four Variants of the same project?' Images of the red head flashed through his mind, her eyes 'She's one too,' He paused for a single moment to look back at the rising smoke cloud that was his old home 'Please be alive. I am going to need your help.'

With that the companions began walking north again.

* * *

 **A/N: And the plot thickens :3 So, Let's hear a little speculation! Who do you think the leader of the Lucifer Strain is? What about the other 'super soldiers' What Strain do you think the red head belongs too? What do you think about my set-up? Give me your thoughts! As always hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you guys next time, peace!**


End file.
